My Mac mini M1 is not detecting my Samsung M8 Smart Monitor camera

I struggled with the M1 Mini + Samsung M8 for a while (probably because I never read the manual, nor am I techie enough to wing it). Here's what I found:

• Connect M8 to the Mini using the Samsung provided HDMI cable works right out of the box. However, the camera does not work.
• Removed the HDMI cable. Connect the USB-C to C cable instead. Nothing seems to be working. However, I realized that in the M8 setting, go to External Device Manager -> USB source setup -> change it to USB-C. This seems to allow the Mini to detect the M8 and the camera can be used.

I just got the Samsung M8 Smart Display webcam module working with macOS (on an M1 MacBook Pro) + Windows 11 and Linux on a dual boot PC - thanks to everyone on this thread who has contributed for your super helpful info.

What worked for me was connecting the SlimFit Cam module directly via a USB-C to USB-A cable to my device - the bottom of the camera module has a USB-C connector which is normally occupied by the Samsung pogo pin dongle but you can just remove the dongle and plug your own cable straight into the module. Bonus: the SlimFit module will still magnetically attach to the top of your display.

For the MacBook I also had to use a USB-A to USB-C converter dongle. In case it's useful the USB-C to USB-A cable I used was this one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01GGKYS6E. Not sure about the origin of the A-to-C dongle. You should now see the camera in e.g. Photo Booth or Zoom.

For completeness I'll also mention here that under Linux the picture was corrupted in highest quality mode with lots of vertical lines and I had to step the resolution down to 640x480 before this went away. There's an app called Cheese that comes with most desktop Linux distributions which you can use for this. Otherwise it just magically worked as the SlimFit supports the UVC standard. Likewise under Windows 11 no drivers or configuration were required as UVC is supported out of the box.

And one final note in case it wasn't clear from the above - this is connecting the camera (and its built-in microphone) directly to your computer. The monitor still needs its own HDMI or USB-C connection for video and audio output from your computer. This also means that the monitor won't do all the fancy Alexa and Google Duo type stuff unless you reconnect the SlimFit the usual way, but I'm not going to lose any sleep over this :-)

Hey, the answer from the above helped me!

• “Removed the HDMI cable. Connect the USB-C to C cable instead. Nothing seems to be working. However, I realized that in the M8 setting, go to External Device Manager -> USB source setup -> change it to USB-C. This seems to allow the Mini to detect the M8 and the camera can be used.“

regards

jg

Hi remo227, I shared in one of the replies above what works for me. Maybe you can try this as well.

• Removed the HDMI cable. Connect the USB-C to C cable instead.
• In the M8 setting (use the remote control from the monitor, to navigate), go to External Device Manager -> USB source setup -> change it to USB-C. This seems to allow the Mini to detect the M8 and the camera can be used.

Figured it out. You MUST connect both the USB-C (65W) input on the M8 to a USB-C port or Tbolt4 port on ANY mac (I specifically was testing the Mac Studio). You MUST ALSO connect the mini-HDMI to HDMI cable to the mac (mini or studio). You may have to use a UBC-C to HDMI adapter for a Macbook. The Slimfit Camera is now recognized on the mac.

To be clear, you do NOT have to connect both the USB-C and Mini HDMI. You simply need a USB-C cable that is displayport capable. For info, I use this cable and the monitor, speakers and camera all work fine through this single cable. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08ZXH6RJ3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have the Mac Mini M1 and Samsung M8 working fine. The only thing I found is that you need a USB-C cable that is rated for displayport purposes. A generic USB-C power cable will not work.

Connect the monitor’s USB-C upstream port to the mini’s USB-A port using a suitable C-A adaptor https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B085VT1VJT/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=AX3WHDLN35TDQ&psc=1 or a C-A cable https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DC5PPFV/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A294P4X9EWVXLJ&psc=1, should fix.

That is where I started - I got connected via HDMI but played with the settings including selecting the PC setting - somehow after multiple reboots, it switched over to the USB-C (either socket on the Mac Mini and the right-most one (looking from the front)) on the M8. This is important to be able to access the camera via FaceTime.

Which USB-C connection are you using? - I'm currently using the middle one.

Restarting did the trick - but the picture is very grainy and has a definite lag. Shades of Apple Studio

Are there other settings to improve it?

The pre-publication material suggested all kinds of improvement in the pipeline.

Robin

Robin

You disconnect the hdmi and just plug it in and it detects it and switches or at least mine did.

Also try turning everything off then restart after reconnecting if it doesn't do it automatically.

Hi, I have a MacBook Pro and was able to activate the Samsung Slimfit Cam and it works fine. Here's the procedure:

Settings > Accessibility > Pointer Control > Alternative Control Methods > Enable Head Pointer > Options > Camera Options > Camera > Choose Samsung Slimfit Cam > OK

I am not sure if it's working for Mac mini M1. Hope this helps

Works fine on mine, you can't use HDMI, I made that mistake too.

Sweet setup, I am really liking this monitor, not paying more than double for the Studio when this does so much more. And I didn't have to pay $400 extra for an adjustable stand either. :>

Rich

Mine looks great, so you have a setting wrong or something. I am using the middle one on the M8 and the one closest to the hdmi on the M1 Mini. In the M1 settings, mine says "samsung color profile" and that is about the only setting on the Mini.

I think you need to look at the M8 settings if your doing the above already. There is one that I changed to "graphics" or something like that. You will know when you see that, it is right at the top. Also do not turn up sharpness a lot or it looks worse. If your "txt" looks odd, check the sharpness setting and turn it down.

These settings take some time getting used to as they are not like a standard monitor. This is all new type tech and using the remote is neat I think too.

Also like you said, if something does not seem right, just restart both. I did that too and it fixed something once.